GOING VIRAL
AB InBev are claiming that their Mexican subsidiary, Cervecería Modelo, suffered a loss equivalent to £220 million in January and February because of the effect that the Covid-19 virus had on sales of their Corona beer. Corona is the most popular imported beer in the USA. Not all of this is down to people reacting to the coincidence of the name. £132 million of the loss was incurred in China, where the beer is also popular, because people were not able to get out to celebrate their New Year.
In the last edition (page 40) I reported VisitBritain’s predictions for tourism from China and the USA. Alas, I suspect that these predictions will not now be fulfilled. Hopefully, the resident population, while observing the appropriate precautions, will still continue to visit their local pubs.
FULLER’S PUBCO
Like-for-like sales in Fuller’s managed pubs and hotels increased by 4.3% over Christmas and New Year. Chief executive Simon Emeny told the Morning Advertiser, “It’s been a year of change for Fuller’s and this is a good first Christmas as a focused premium pubs and hotels business. We have exciting plans in place for the coming months, including the opening of our new sites the Windjammer at Royal Dock, the White Horse at Wembley Park and the Parcel Office at Liverpool Street Station. We will also be moving to our new offices at Pier House in Chiswick at the end of March.”
Our congratulations go to Mr Emeny for being named the Business Leader of the Year at the 2020 Publican Awards. This was the only award won by a London based business.
YOUNG’S NEWS
The spending on their pub estate continues. In addition to the four sites mentioned in the last edition, the Grapes in Wandsworth is being refurbished and is having its garden extended, just in time for CAMRA’s ‘Summer of Pub’. It may be time to revisit the once famous Wandsworth Crawl. Young’s acquisition of the Constitution in Camden Town is reported on page 18.
Young’s are supporting the Laptops for the Homeless campaign being run by the charity SocialBox.Biz. The aim is to provide homeless people, the elderly and refugees with reconditioned laptops which will help them apply for jobs, stay in contact with relatives, and get back on their feet. A Young’s spokesman told the Morning Advertiser, “We absolutely love what SocialBox.Biz is doing for our community. We want to be part of the conversation and help homeless people find some stability in their lives.”
MARSTON’S SELL MORE PUBS
Marston’s continue to sell pubs to help reduce their debts. The latest sale is of 29 pubs to NewRiver’s pubs arm, Hawthorn Leisure. Marston’s intend raising a further £90 million from selling pubs in the current financial year. Curiously, Marston’s received a boost from substantially increased sales in 2019 of the Young’s beer brands, which they acquired when they purchased Charles Wells’ brewing operation.
HAWTHORN LEISURE
Hawthorn continue to grow. Its parent company, NewRiver, recently acquired Bravo Inns Limited for £17.9 million. They have given 44 wet-led pubs to Hawthorn Leisure to manage as a separate entity. Most of the pubs involved are in North West England. Hawthorn now has an estate of around 700 pubs, which is about a quarter of the pubs that NewRiver owns in total. Income from the Hawthorn pubs for the six months to 30 September rose to £13.6 million, a 27% increase on the previous year.
STONEGATE DEAL CONFIRMED
Stonegate’s £1.27 billion acquisition of Ei Group (Enterprise Inns as was) has finally been approved by the Competition and Markets Authority. Stonegate now operate some 4,800 pubs. The CMA did have a concern about creating some local monopolies so 42 of Ei’s pubs, all deemed to be going concerns, are to be sold to third parties.
DIRTY MONEY
Just to give readers an idea of the penalties involved, an east London pub was recently fined a total of £57,527 (fine, costs and victim surcharge) for allowing a ‘large and active’ infestation of mice. This was the largest fine ever levied in the borough concerned. In addition, the owners, a large pub owning business, had to cover the cost of cleaning up which involved the pub being closed. The pub has now radically improved so I won’t name it.
In a similar vein, a publican in Staffordshire has had damages totalling almost £30,000 awarded against him for breaching Sky Sport’s copyright by screening their coverage without the required commercial agreement. According to the Morning Advertiser, Sky’s inspectors visit 700 pubs per week checking on unauthorised use.
Compiled by Tony Hedger